Riposte issue #4 features a beautiful and personal essay by Motherland founder Charlotte Philby, on the issue of raising boys (excerpt below).

To explore this subject further, we’ve joined forces to present a free thought-provoking debate at London’s Ace Hotel, with speakers including Sharmadean Reid, James Massiah, and chair of Action Aid, Margaret Casely-Hayford. The event, on Sunday 19 July 2015 will be followed by a delicious brunch from the Hoi Polloi (Rooftop) Brunch Club.

How to raise boys talk – 1pm to 2pmWhat does it mean to be a boy in 2015? When we think of what it is to be a girl in the same period, the markers are clearer. In a world of Malala Yousafzai, and Hillary Clinton running for the American presi¬dency, of HeForShe and leaning in, we can see that the tide is changing. Where once the engines of change rumbled quietly on the shelves of dusty libraries and in underground liberation movements, now they boom through the air, from the outpouring of support for #BringBackOurGirls and #EverydaySexism to Beyoncé borrowing lyrics from feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Pushed to the surface through the power of language, self-realisation and an increasingly vocal global dialogue, a new wave is forming that reclaims what it is to be a woman. But what about the boys?

In order to help realise this emerging chapter of social history, the message we have instilled in our girls has been powerful and clear: be confident, be bold, be yourself, be who you want to be. The key is in self-belief, celebrating difference and accepting who you are without giving up who you want to be. But when it comes to nurturing the individual self and supporting the conflicting thoughts and emotions that govern us all, do we offer our boys the same hope?

(To read the essay in full, click here to order a copy of Riposte issue #4)

Hoi Polloi (Rooftop) Brunch Club – 2pm to 3.30pmHoi Polloi’s brunch will be in the Britannia Room on the stunning Rooftop at Ace Hotel. With views of the city and a plant-filled terrace, the scene is set for some delightful summer brunching. Service will be jolly with everyone sharing a menu that includes fruity grains, interesting eggs, something savoury and non-eggy and an indulgent finish – all accompanied by a generous lashing of tea, coffee and something a little more potent.

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